During the international week, the Japan League Cup continues to go on as usual, with the first leg of the quarterfinals already played on Wednesday (21st). Sanfrecce Hiroshima won 3-2 against Fukuoka Hornets in Kyushu, while Cerezo Osaka had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Urawa Red Diamonds at home. The four sides will face each other in the second round this weekend, so let's take a look at the first two matches today.
Fukuoka Hornets 2:3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Neither army has any player selected for Japan.
the national team
Fukuoka Hornets are still struggling for relegation in the JLF, while Sanfrecce Hiroshima is holding the 3rd place. Fukuoka Hornets are still struggling for relegation protection in the Nippon Professional League, while Sanfrecce Hiroshima is holding on to the 3rd position, which shows the difference in strength between the two teams. Although Sanfrecce Hiroshima is the visiting team, they are still favored by the general public before the match.
Fukuoka Hornets will continue to be without their top scorer Yuya Yamagishi, and will also be without Kiyan Lu, while supervisor Shigeyoshi Hasebe will send youngster Yuji Kitajima into the match, and Kennedy Mikuni, who has been on loan to Tochigi SC, will make his debut in the match.
For Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Keisuke Osako, Shio Shiotani, Sho Sasaki, Taketo Nozuta and Makoto Manda are all in the starting lineup, while Binkarifa, Kosei Shibasaki, and Tomoya Fujii are on the bench, so the team is quite well-stocked.
In the early part of the match, Fukuoka Wasps, who are good at long passes and attacks, indirectly gained the advantage in the early part of the match due to the twin towers of Zuandi Gado and John Marley, but Sanfrecce Hiroshima's three-member defense was also successful in dealing with it, which gradually eliminated the advantage of Fukuoka Wasps in the high altitude.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima started to organize an effective attack and opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. Sho Sasaki sent a long pass to Hayato Araki on the left side of the penalty area, the latter's second pass was misjudged by Fukuoka Hornets midfielder D'Agosto, and Takumo Kawamura saw the chance to score on the near post, giving Sanfrecce Hiroshima the lead of the first half with a score of 1-0.
In the second half, Sanfrecce extended their lead to 2-0 with a penalty kick from the right side of the field by Taketo Nakatsuda, which was easily scored by veteran Shiotani, only 4 minutes into the second half.
Ten minutes into the second half, Fukuoka Hornets conceded another goal. Sanfrecce Hiroshima intercepted the ball at the back of the field and launched a quick counterattack. Kashiwa Hiromun sent a cross into the penalty area, and after a scuffle, Takumu Kawamura shot into the net with his left foot to make the lead 3-0.
Fukuoka Hornets didn't get discouraged in front of their home fans despite the 3-goal deficit, and even got a goal back in the 27th minute of the second half. Jordy Garrus and Kusamin Tanabe played together on the right side of the field and passed the ball to the backup center forward Lu Kian, who then delivered a precise straight shot into the penalty area, and Zuandigardo calmly shot the ball into the net in front of the goalkeeper, bringing Fukuoka Hornets closer to the record of 1-3.
Fukuoka Hornets, who had recovered a close record, continued to press Sanfrecce Hiroshima with the support of the home fans, trying to close the gap in the score, and finally got something in the extra time.
Mikuni Kennedy took a penalty kick and hammered the ball into the penalty area, Lukian played a pass to Tanabe Kusamin in the midfield, and Zuandi Kadu ambled to the far post to take a cross from Dibao and scored at the near post, which helped Fukuoka Hornets to recover to a 2-3 draw, and made the team's situation in the next round not too bad.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima supervisor Skippy said that although the team won the advantage in the first round, but admitted that the team faced the Fukuoka Hornets physical playing style is a little bit difficult, I hope to improve as soon as possible before the next round; he also praised Takumo Kawamura, who scored two goals, that he has recovered quickly after returning from injury, and I believe that the performance will be getting better and better.
Fukuoka Yellow Striker supervisor Shigeru Hasebe admitted that his team's attacking style in the first half was monotonous, which directly put the team at a disadvantage. However, the team successfully used the width of the pitch in the latter part of the game to make the attack more three-dimensional and succeeded in recovering two goals, and he expects to improve the team's weaknesses in the attacking chain before the next round of the game.
Sakura Osaka 1:1 Urawa Red Diamonds
Cerezo Osaka and Urawa Red Diamonds are much closer in strength, and a draw is widely expected to be a reasonable result. The home team Osaka Sakura has left a lot to be desired in their starting lineup, with Hiroshi Kiyomu and Vladimir Ventis in the starting lineup, and Australian scorer Adam Taggart in the starting lineup.
the national team
And absence.
As for the visiting team Urawa Red Diamonds, although Hiroki Sakai has been selected as Japan's top player, he has been selected as Japan's top player.
the national team
They are out of the lineup, but are strong with Alexandre Schuhuis, Carlson, Atsuki Ito, and Yusuke Matsuo in the lineup.
The match attracted more than 10,000 fans and the atmosphere was great, and both teams were able to get into the game pretty quickly in the hot atmosphere. Just 2 minutes into the match, Osaka Ceremonial Center Shoji broke free and Hiroyoshi Okuno took the ball and gave it to Tomoki Munemoto, who was in charge of the front line of the match. Tomoki Munemoto then scored a world goal from outside the penalty box, giving Osaka Ceremonial a quick lead.
Urawa Red Diamonds, who were unexpectedly behind in the game, started to attack, and firstly, Yoshiho Koizumi's one-touch shot was saved by Keisuke Shimizu of Osaka Cherry Blossom goalkeeper. In the 25th minute, Urawa's corner kick by Yosuke Matsuo went over the bar, and Osaka Sakura managed to hold off Urawa's fierce attack in the first half, taking a 1-0 lead in the first half.
In the second half, Cerezo Osaka almost extended their lead, but another striker, Rikuji Kato, failed to score with a header. After the attack failed, Urawa Red Diamonds once again stood firm and pressed Osaka Ceremony's defense, while Osaka Ceremony didn't give their opponent much space to attack with their 442 formation.
However, eight minutes into the second half, the home team finally lost their grip on the game. Urawa Red Diamonds left tackle Koho Akimoto assisted with a cut back from the left touchline. Midfielder Atsuki Ito's left-footed shot was saved by Keisuke Shimizu, but Yoshiho Koizumi reacted quickly to make up for it, helping Urawa Red Diamonds to a 1-1 draw.
After the draw, the two teams once again looked to be on the attack and defending each other in their quest to win the first leg of the match. Cerezo Osaka first had a shot by Sung-Ya Per Kumagi saved by Kosaku Nishikawa, and then Rokuji Kato's overhead kick from a substitute Hiroshi Kiyotake's cross went just over the bar.
Urawa Red Diamonds also launched some passes from the left and right sides, but Keisuke Shimizu, who has been in excellent form this year, solved all of them. As a result, the two sides finished the first leg with a score of 1-1, but Urawa Red Diamonds gained the advantage of the visitor's goal.
Urawa Red Diamonds supervisor Lekadu Lodigus said that he already knew the power of Tomoki Umen in the Japanese B era, and as a result, the team got punished early this game.
In addition, the team's poor grasp of the goal in the first half indirectly put the team in a difficult situation, but the good luck improved in the second half and tied the game. Lecardo Rodriguez admitted that his team has a small advantage in terms of the number of matches, but he will take advantage of these few days to make adjustments for Urawa Red Diamonds, and hope to beat the opponent to be among the finalists in the weekend of Zuhai.
As for Osaka Cherry Blossoms supervisor Akio Ogiku, he said that the team's deployment in the first half of the game was not bad, but in the second half, it was a little bit too far back, allowing the opponent to seize the dominant power to press and be tied, and it will be the next round of the team will make greater improvements for this. In addition, Akio Ogiku also praised the goal scorer Tomoki Sakamoto, that he has the potential to become the team's main force.
The second leg of the Japan League Cup quarterfinals will be played on Sunday, with both matches kicking off at 4:00pm Hong Kong time. If you want to watch the matches live, remember to keep an eye on the official JLF Youtube channel!
This week's Sunday B live streaming schedule:
September 24, 1:00 p.m. Gunma Kusatsu Onsen vs. Yamaguchi Refa Cable 602/662
September 24, 3:00 p.m. Tokyo Green vs. Yamagata Yamagami Cable TV 602/662
